I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and structure for adapting the height at which an alarm may be actuated without altering the structure of existing alarm pull-stations.
II. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various building codes and federal regulations have been amended and/or enacted to establish new requirements regarding the accessibility of fire alarm pull-stations to individuals, handicapped individuals in particular, who cannot reach an alarm pull-station. Traditionally, alarm pull-stations have been mounted in the range of 50 to 62 inches (1.27 m to 1.58 m) above the floor. Under new government regulations, manual stations for fire alarms must be mounted at a centerline position no greater than 48 inches (1.22 m) above the floor. As such, building owners are faced with the prospect of investing considerable time and resources to move their existing alarm pull-stations, patch old junction pull-stations, wire new junction pull-stations and reinstall pull-stations at the mandated height. Such a procedure is particularly burdensome when the original alarm pull-station was installed on a structure, such as marble wall surface, which cannot be easily and/or attractively patched.
Various devices and techniques have been used in the past to adjust the height at which an alarm may be actuated. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,066, a wall-mounted alarm switch assembly with an adjustable height actuator is disclosed. However, the disclosed device is intended as a complete replacement of existing pull-stations. As such, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,066 fails to alleviate the time and expense associated with removing existing pull-stations and replacing them with new alarm pull-stations.
Other devices and methods have also been used to adjust the height at which a light switch may be actuated. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,389,220, 2,668,456 and 3,581,037, various devices and methods are disclosed to alter the height at which a light switch may be actuated. However, these and other similar concepts suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular, these devices require that existing light switch structure either be replaced or used to secure a height-adjusting device within the light switch. As such, structural changes are made to the light switch structure. Fire alarm pull-stations are regulated by various government agencies and cannot be altered structurally, mechanically or electronically. As such, the devices disclosed in these patents are clearly inappropriate for adjusting the height at which existing alarm pull-stations may be actuated.
Other attempts have been made to adjust the height at which a light switch can be actuated. However, these attempts also fail to address the problems associated with adjusting the height at which an alarm pull-station may be actuated. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,645, a rotatable light switch extension is disclosed to (1) enable children to actuate a light switch and (2) enable parents to rotate the extension so that, if desired, the handle may be rotated to a position where a child is unable to reach the extension. Such a device, therefore, is clearly inappropriate for extending fire alarm pull-stations as it could not ensure compliance, at all times, with the height requirements of the new fire alarm regulations.